Baby’s All Right

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Baby's All Right is a new music venue, bar and restaurant in Williamsburg.CreditBenjamin Norman for The New York Times

By Ben Detrick

Feb. 5, 2014

As the Williamsburg scene drowns under waves of tourists and condo dwellers, Baby’s All Right has swiftly become a night-life preserver. The expansive bar, restaurant and music space, which opened in October on Broadway, has hosted an event for Opening Ceremony, held a New Year’s party with a performance by Dev Hynes, and booked acts like Smith Westerns. Among Southside insiders, nights now begin or end here.

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The Australian band Cloud Control performs at Baby's All Right.CreditBenjamin Norman for The New York Times

At a Frenchkiss Records holiday party in late December, a poofy-haired young woman in stonewashed jeans bounded on stage during karaoke to perform Shaggy’s 2001 hit “Angel.” Later, she praised the club’s labyrinthine layout. “If you’re tired of one thing, you can go into a quiet corner,” said Nahana Schelling, who lives in Greenpoint.

THE PLACE

Baby’s All Right is on a stretch of Broadway, near Peter Luger’s, that has swelled with a Neapolitan pizzeria and a horse-racing-themed cocktail lounge. Chopped into a bar, dining room and a larger performance area in the back, the multipurpose space has the feel of a Wes Anderson-curated mother ship. See: astrological charts, contoured ceilings and overlapping swaths of wallpaper scraps. Colorful lighting evokes a ’90s rap video — call it “Hype Williamsburg.”

THE CROWD

Kids in bands and those who watch them play. Outfits kowtow to winterized androgyny: beanies, leather jackets, vintage sweaters (on one evening, there were two women with knitwear from “The Simpsons”). Trendy, yes, but ownership hopes to be inclusive. “Artists, musicians, as well as people who work in the city and have moved to the neighborhood more recently can all hang out and get a little loose,” said Zachary Mexico, an owner.

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The main bar area features a DJ.CreditBenjamin Norman for The New York Times

PLAYLIST

Impeccable tunes. One Friday, The D.J. Cobra Krames played records from Rich Homie Quan and En Vogue on stage, while Them’s “Gloria” jangled in the bar. Buzzy indie acts like London Grammar, DIIV and Casey Veggies have performed. According to Billy Jones, an owner, the wide smorgasbord of deep house, cumbia, harsh noise and Ethiopian jazz is designed to be “the best possible things from all different points on the spectrum happening all at once.”

GETTING IN

Entry to the bar and restaurant is free; tickets for performances typically cost $10 to $20.

DRINKS

Beer is $5 to $7; cocktails like the Ai Weiwei (mezcal, jalapeño, lime, agave) are $11. A full dinner menu includes burgers, bone marrow with borscht and aged beef morsels called Luger’s Scraps.